Hagakure: The Code of the Samurai - The Manga Edition

YAMAMOTO TSUNETOMO. HAGAKURE: THE CODE OF THE SAMURAI - THE MANGA EDITION. TRANSLATED BY WILLIAM SCOTT WILSON. ADAPTED BY SEAN MICHAEL WILSON. ILLUSTRATED BY CHIE KUTSUWADA. TOKYO: KODANSHA, 2011.

"After reading books or the like, it is best to burn them or throw them away." Yamamoto Tsunetomo, Hagakure.
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The abstract concepts of philosophy are often difficult to communicate to audiences, if for no other reason because of the ineffectiveness of language. Foreign cultures, translated languages, and philosophies far removed in time further complicate matters. Using a visual component, however, can aid readers in understanding these concepts. Sean Michael Wilson's manga adaptation of William Scott Wilson's translation of Yamamoto Tsunetomo's Hagakure attempts to present to readers a visually appealing interpretation of the central concepts found in the two-hundred-year-old treatise on samurai behavior. Though useful as an introduction to this field of study, the selection of certain items over others, presents this the source material only in partial and limits readers understanding of the entire context--historical, cultural, and philosophical--of the work.

Because of the intertwined relationship of the three authors, it is necessary to begin with a few words on each. The original progenitor of the Hagakure is Yamamoto Tsunetomo, an eighteenth- century samurai and former retainer of the Nabeshima. When his feudal lord, Nabeshima Mitsushige, died in 1700, Yamamoto was unable to follow his lord in death through suicide due to both the proclamations of the Tokugawa Bakufu and Nabeshima Mitsushige's own wishes. As an alternative, Yamamoto entered the Zen priesthood. In 1710, he received visits from a young samurai, Tashiro Tsuramoto, who later recorded Yamamoto's words of wisdom in what became the Hagakure. Yamamoto shared his concerns for and observations of samurai behavior during the eighteenth century. According to his assessments, and much to his vexation, samurai of his day were less interested in serving out their traditional roles as loyal retainers from the class of military elite and more concerned with ostentatious extravagances.

William Scott Wilson is one of the most influential translators of the Hagakure. Wilson found his way to the Hagakure from his interest in the works of Mishima Yukio, including his series of essays Hagakure Nyūmon. His original translation of the work, published by Kodansha with assistance of a grant from the Japan Foundation, appeared in 1979. His original translation possessed a selection of the original transcriptions of the Hagakure, approximately three hundred of the original thirteen hundred--Japanese editions often exclude a number. To his credit, William S. Wilson did include more selections of the original Japanese in his edition, though not the entire work.

The final author in the triumvirate is Sean Michael Wilson. Modern readers will note Wilson for his efforts in producing graphic novels, especially of important works in literature including Nitobe Izano’s Bushido, Miyamoto Musashi’s Book of Five Rings, Issai Chozanshi’s Demon’s Sermon on the Martial Arts, and Laozi’s Dao De Jing. To complete his works, Wilson works in conjunction with British, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese artists. He also lectures on topics related to manga throughout the United States and Great Britain.
This interpretation of the Hagakure presents Yamamoto's advice in a series of anecdotes told during the meetings between Yamamoto and Tashiro. Each of five chapters covers one specific topic from the Hagakure: "The Way of the Samurai," "Loyalty," Revenge," "Kaishaku and Seppuku," and "Sincerity." Each chapter depicts a distinct meeting between Yamamoto and Tashiro, wherein Yamamoto recalls stories from the bygone eras of ideal (according to Yamamoto) samurai behavior to illustrate his points. This arrangement provides a level of structure absent from the original edition produced as recorded and not organized.

The manga edition of the Hagakure highlights a few essential lessons that communicate central concepts in behavior expected of Nabeshima samurai. These include humility and selflessness, confidence and resolution, and the importance of proper behavior within social contexts (e.g., using proper manners and not bullying others). What is difficult to extract from the work, especially the manga edition, is that much of the philosophical underpinnings highlighted there echo closely the ideals of Confucianism Yamamoto received in his education. Nevertheless, though a work inspired by centuries old Chinese civil philosophy and originally composed nearly three hundred years ago for a Japanese audience, these lessons apply just as well to modern readers from a variety of backgrounds. This work, however, is a broad overview of philosophy as interpreted by Yamamoto Tsunetomo.

Though in the manga many breeches of etiquette were solved with the quick cut of the sword, such problem resolutions are impossible in today's world. This, perhaps, makes some elements of samurai ethics (as recounted in this manga) more difficult to maintain. As a result, without immediate consequences, or the ability to enforce immediate consequences, it requires a greater amount and quality of self-discipline and personal courage to be an upstanding person in today's society. This is critical for readers to bear in mind.